


Ward x Simmons Ship Week

by saffrondawn



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-30
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2018-01-21 10:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1547075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saffrondawn/pseuds/saffrondawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of drabbles I wrote for the Ward Simmons Days Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Firsts and Lasts

The last time Grant Ward sees Jemma Simmons he’s in a bar in Barcelona. How they both end up there is beyond his imagination, but as soon as she’s caught in his vision he can’t look away. Her smile is wide as she listens to a woman tell a joke. For a second, he thinks the other woman is Skye, but when she runs her fingers through her hair, he can tell that’s not the case. Jemma sips her pint once a minute. At one point, she places the glass on the table, and starts to gesticulate wildly. He can tell by the way her eyes light up she knows the topic well, and cannot help, but explain it. He remembers the motions fondly, and how he could watch her give a lecture on the possibilities of Time Lord regeneration for hours.

Her gaze scans the room until it finally pauses on him. A small smile creeps onto her lips, a content look on her face. She’s happy, and he can tell while he sits on his bar stool taking full advantage of a night off away from the junior agent Commander Hill stuck him with. Apparently, everyone starts to think you’re sociable when you live in confined quarters with five other people.

There is a debate in her eyes – to leave the table and say hello, or stay where she is. He didn’t want to make it harder for her. The team breaking up meant they were separated. They tried long distance, but sometimes love doesn’t work out. He finishes the rest of his drink, pays his bill, and stands to leave. When he gets to the door, he turns to have one last look at her. Her eyes drift away from the woman, and back to his. This time, he gives a small smile, and leaves the bar.

*****

The first time Grant Ward sees Jemma Simmons he has interrupted some squabble she’s having with Fitz. The loud thud from his bag startles the pair of them, and they start speaking to each other again as if they weren’t just fighting over something.

Out of nowhere, Simmons is this close to his face, sticking a swab into his mouth, and won’t stop talking. He can barely follow what they are saying since he was anticipating only one scientist, not two. And he wasn’t expecting the pair to be so in sync to one another that they would forget he was there.

He watches for a moment to see if there was anything else he should know about the scientists when Simmons looks over to him, gives a small smile, and proceeds to tell Fitz something that made sense to only them.


	2. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References/possible AU to 1x09 “Repairs”

Sometimes, she dreams of home. She wish she didn’t, but there she was, waking up, sweat soaking her clothes, her breath heavy. She had to move before she was discovered.

Keep moving, she would repeat to herself over and over. May and Ward would want me to keep moving. She told herself that over and over, but there were times when she thought it was ridiculous. If she kept moving, then how would they find her. But she needed to move. When Tobias Ford had grabbed her and “jumped” to this hell, she was trapped. And now, he was chasing her all through this crazy land.

Move move move.

She would keep him running in circles, never staying in the same cave twice, until she figured out a way to get back to the Bus. She was hoping Fitz would use her GPS signal to locate her once the team made it over, but as the days passed, it seemed unlikely.

The daily occurrences of life on the Bus were starting to affect her mentally. She missed Fitz like no other, since there was no one else to bounce ideas off of, or share an inside joke with. She missed Coulson and May’s different parenting approaches to the group. She missed Skye asking inquisitive questions about whatever she was doing, and being like a sister to her with their crazy lives. She missed the quietness of Ward, and how she knew where he was in the room even if she couldn’t see him.

She needed to get back and she would find a way. She was Jemma Simmons after all.


	3. Undercover

If anyone told Grant Ward that Jemma Simmons could be calm under pressure, let alone undercover work, he would have rolled his eyes and bit his tongue, followed by going through the tally of the number of times in which Simmons proved the exact opposite.

But he would have to swallow his own doubt as he sat across from Simmons on the train to Vienna. Another train. Why is it always train jobs? She was engrossed with the nature they passed, her left hand on the window pane above her head, absorbing the cold from the winter weather outside. She was completely at peace with her surroundings, and Ward was confused. Skye had told him about the incident with Agent Sitwell, and Coulson warned him that she would have an entire backstory prepared in order to stay in character.

He was surprised when he wasn’t given a detailed debrief on their false marriage as they drove the train station. She didn’t give an awkward announcement about the status of their relationship to the whole train car. She sat down and he caught her giggling as he had trouble fitting into the seat – he was far too tall for the small amount of leg room between them, but he kept his body on his side of the invisible divide. She wasn’t nervous or shaky, in fact, he was reminded of how she was around the lab – confident, cool, and collected.

“What’s wrong?”

Ward shook his head, “What?”

“What’s wrong?” Simmons repeated.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You’ve been staring at me for a full minute now.”

Ward leaned forward, “Isn’t that what a husband does with his wife? Take in all her beauty?”

Simmons leaned in as well, “Please don’t tell me that worked on the women before me.”

“It wouldn’t have been true for anyone else.”

Simmons stared at him for a few moments before sitting back, and returned to staring out the window. He had meant it, but now found that it wasn’t something you told a co-worker. A spouse, definitely, but Simmons and he weren’t married, they were undercover.

“Sim—”

“Claire,” she said sharply.

Ward could have slapped himself at that moment. Of course, she was Claire and he was Frank, and Skye really needed to stop picking their undercover names from television shows.

“Claire, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

She returned her gaze to him, “I wasn’t uncomfortable. It’s part of everything that needs to be done. It’s understandable, Frank.”

He didn’t like how easy it was for her to call him by a fake name when she could barely call him by his first. He had told her she could since jumping out of a plane together eliminates all awkwardness, but she still insisted using his surname.

“How are you able to do it?” He asked.

“Do what?”

“Be so calm right now.”

She squinted her eyes in confusion, “I don’t understand your question.”

“I know about Sitwell and the last train. You don’t do well out here. How are you so calm?” Ward noticed she blushed a little at Sitwell’s name, but it deepened when it came to his question.

“I don’t know. I guess I do well around you,” she stated, sat up a little, and looked around the compartment like any other tourist.

Ward watched her, and couldn’t help, but smiling. He knew what she was trying to say, and allowed his pride to grow a little. He wanted to tell Sitwell that there was no way she was going to get out of her situation with him that didn’t end with the Night-Night gun. There was a part of him that wanted to boast to Coulson that Simmons was capable in the field, even if she needed to be around the same person all the time.

She caught his gaze, saw his smile, and rolled her eyes. He caught the smirk that was growing on her lips. “Shut up, Frank.”


	4. History

A lot can be said about your computer’s music history. For Grant, he could always tell when Jemma was having a productive day, or a day when nothing was connecting, or his personal favorite was when she could be bouncing her head to the music’s beats.

He was even surprised as to her music preference. There were the old pieces like Chopin and Tchaikovsky to contemporary pieces like Garbage and M.I.A. He would borrow her iPod sometimes while he worked out (he used his own headphones, of course), and find the craziest things that would make him stop, shake his head, and catalog it to tease her later.

She was a good sport when the teasing would reach a dangerous level (he never could stop reminding her of that song from one of the newer boy bands), but she had her own fuel. He had a habit of having disco classics (It helps with keeping time on punches, he would argue).

Once, the teasing was so intense that Skye looked over the tablet she was using to read the S.H.I.E.L.D. handbook, and interrupted with a simple, “Is this you guys coming out, then?”

Grant and Jemma froze. “What?” Jemma asked first.

Skye put her tablet down, “You two coming out as a couple.”

Grant sat up a little, “What gave you that idea?”

Skye rolled up her sleeves and started to count on her fingers, “You’re constantly together. You have more inside jokes than Fitzsimmons. You know each other’s music libraries inside and out. May seems to be smiling more. Coulson looks more tense. And Fitz has asked me to research S.H.I.E.L.D’s policy on dating co-workers.”

They looked at her dumbfounded while she waited with a wide grin.

Jemma glanced from Grant to Skye, “I guess we are.”

“Really?” Skye looked to be jumping out of her seat. “Really, really?”

Grant laughed, “Yeah, I guess so.”

Skye ran to Jemma, hugged her, stopped short of Grant, gave an awkward salute, and scurried off in the direction of the lab.

Jemma spoke first, “We don’t have inside jokes.”

“Not even close.”

“But Coulson does look more tense,” Jemma said, before stopping for a moment. “Do you think he thinks this is like you and May?”

Grant got up, and sat next to her. “I hope not. This is different you know that, right?”

Jemma nodded, “Of course. But why does May look happy?”

Grant’s face scrunched up like it did right before he was going to tell her something that could either bring a pillow playfully in his direction or stunned silence. “She was the one who pointed it out to me that I was reckless on missions, so I could spend time with you.”

Jemma sat there for a moment, and broke out into a grin. “That was sweet of her. Not of you, but sweet of her.”

“So is Fitz,” Grant pointed out.

“I knew that. You knew that —”

“I did.”

“And he’s very supportive.”

“Especially when you play that song from the boy band,” Grant said in a teasing manner.

“Hush you,” Jemma said as she threw a pillow at his head.


	5. Drinks and Drinking

When they had made it to the hotel they were staying at, Simmons was preoccupied with her phone. She was muttering something under her breath while not paying attention to where she was going. After playing chicken with an older couple, Ward finally took her shoulders, and guided her through the semi-hotel lobby.

On the elevator ride up to their floor, Fitz and Skye were finding ways to improve the Dwarves, while Coulson and May were whispering about something, and Simmons was still staring at her phone. Ward was getting concerned by her silence, her repeated chewing on her lip, and the way her brow knotted. When they got to their floor, Ward directed her once more, but she was able to get into her room by herself.

He was reading over reports when he heard something outside his door. He got up quickly, grabbed the gun he always carried, and opened the door. He hid the gun immediately when he saw it was Simmons standing there, using her key card to enter his room. Confused, she looked up, and her eyes took too long to focus.

“Ward? What are you doing in my room?” Simmons pushed past him.

Ward put the gun back in its hiding spot. Simmons was wobbling around until she finally sat down on the bed. “Do you have a mini-bar? They cut me off downstairs.”

Ward sat down next to her, “Why were you at the bar?”

She tried to smile, but it didn’t work. Ward hadn’t noticed before, but her eyes were bloodshot and her face was pale. It reminded him of the hours before she decided to jump out of the Bus to save their lives. “My dad died,” she whispered.

“Jemma,” Ward responded.

She started to shake, and when she spoke her voice wasn’t solid. “Yeah, my family was trying to get a hold of me. And then, I was trying to figure out if there were any news from the area. I finally got a hold of my aunt when I was in my room. I ended up at the bar, and outside your room.” She put her elbows on her knees, her fingers massaging her temples, and then she sat up a little, holding onto her stomach. “Oh God, oh God.”

Ward thought she was going to throw up on the carpet, but she broke into tears instead. Her body was rigid, and he pulled her close until she was sobbing into his shirt. He rubbed her back and smoothed her hair for what felt like hours. Gradually, she stopped and he could feel her trying to catch her breath.

“You can stay,” he whispered into her hair.

“You need to sleep,” she argued, her voice dead.

“I’ll be fine. You need to sleep, too.” He paused for a moment, contemplating his words. “I know how it feels. I can hold you if you want.”

He felt her nod, and he stood slowly, taking her with him. He took small steps as they made their way around the bed. When they reached the headboard, Ward pulled back the comforter and sheet, and helped her into the bed. As she moved to face his side, he got into the bed. He pulled her close as she set her head on his chest. His fingers ran up and down her spine to calm her down more, and she wrapped her arm around his chest.

Within moments, her breathing slowed. Before she passed out completely, Ward heard a small “Thank you, Grant.”


	6. Touch

At first, it was accidental. Ward had grabbed the closed petri dish she asked for, and nearly dropped it when her hand went over his.

The next time, he tried to avoid it at all costs. She was delivering a hard copy of her recent findings to Agent Coulson as Ward was descending the spiral stairs after meeting with his superior about his recent performance evaluation. Ward was leaning closer to the railing to the point where he could fall over, but still he felt her as she brushed past him.

There was a third time, of course. He admitted later on that he initiated the contact, but couldn’t tell definitively who upgraded it. It was simple – she was possibly concussed from the maneuvers May piloted the bus to do. Everything was bolted to the floor, but there was the case of the pesky tablet that flew at the side of her head. Ward was there to catch her as she almost fell, and to make sure she wasn’t going to pass out any time soon. Fitz had been complaining about having some warning of dangerous piloting, as Simmons kept her focus on Ward’s eyes. When the scientist left to find May, Simmons took the chance to kiss him. Later, she would say that she needed to make sure she wasn’t completely concussed. However, no one believed it.


	7. I’ll Catch You If You Fall

“How can you watch this for hours on end?” Skye asked Fitz as he was enthralled by what was happening on the television screen.

“I don’t understand the classic ones, but the newer ones have improved on their graphics,” Jemma answered as she took a handful of popcorn out of the bowl.

A crash and bang happened on screen and Fitz jumped.

Skye turned to Jemma, “How many times has he seen this?”

“Many.”

Jemma heard something behind her, and turned to see Grant descending the stairs from Coulson’s office. There was a weird expression on his face. He passed by the group without saying a word, and headed to his bunk. Coulson was slow to follow, and stopped behind the couch. He tapped Jemma twice on the shoulder before leaving.

Jemma waited a minute before leaving the room, and heading straight to Grant’s bunk. She found him sitting on his bed, leaning forward, and eyes focused on the ground. She closed the door, and sat next to him.

There was a thick layer of tension around him, and when Jemma touched his shoulders, he flinched. She kept her hands to herself while she waited for something. He had been there when her dad died, and she needed to be there for him.

She heard him sniffle, and wipe away tears. She ran through names in her head of who would get tears from Grant Ward. It was a short list, but the name on the top made her gasp.

“Grant, is it…” she couldn’t bring herself to continue.

“No.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh, thank God.” If the person he was crying over was his younger brother, then there would have been more tears. But then she remembered he had been crying, “Is it a good thing?”

He finally looked at her. His eyes weren’t bloodshot, so it was someone not as important. “I’m free.”

She tried again to touch, and he didn’t flinch. She wrapped her arms around his chest, and let him lean into her. “Don’t worry. I’ll catch you.”


End file.
